Hassan Mamoun ( ar, حسن مأمون) (13 June 1894 – 19 May 1973) was the
Grand Imam of al-Azhar The Grand Imam of al-Azhar ( ar, الإمام الأكبر), also known as Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar ( ar, links=no, شيخ الأزهر الشريف), currently Ahmed el-Tayeb, is a prestigious and a prominent official title in Egypt. He is consid ...
or ''Shaykh al-Azhar'' between 1964 and 1969 and before that the
Grand Mufti of Egypt
Egypt's Dar al-Ifta ( ar, دار الإفتاء المصرية ) is an Egyptian Islamic advisory, justiciary and governmental body established as a centre for Islam and Islamic legal research in Egypt in 1313 AH / 1895 CE. It offers Muslims r ...
between 1955 and 1960.
Early life and career
Mamoun was born in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
in 1894 to a father who was a leading member of the '
ulema
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
("religious scholars") and the imam of the Fath Mosque in the
Abdin Palace
Abdeen Palace ( ar, قصر عابدين) is a historic Cairo palace built as one of the official residences for the former ruling monarchy and royal family of Egypt. It is now one of the official residences and the principal workplace of the Pr ...
. Growing up, Mamoun was influenced by both
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
and
French culture
The culture of France has been shaped by geography, by historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups. France, and in particular Paris, has played an important role as a center of high culture since the 17th century and from t ...
and studied at
al-Azhar University
, image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg
, image_size = 250
, caption = Al-Azhar University portal
, motto =
, established =
*970/972 first foundat ...
. He graduated from the Qadi School (''qadi'' as a religious judge) in 1918.
[Skovgaard-Peterson, p. 193]
He subsequently began his career as a judge in Egypt's
sharia
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
courts, where he performed well. He was transferred to the
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
where he served as Head Judge in 1941. as a result of his vociferous condemnations of
British imperialism
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
in the Sudan, however, he was transferred back to Cairo to serve as President of the Lower Courts until 1952 when he became President of the Higher Sharia Court. That same year, a
group of army officers deposed the monarchy of King
Farouk
Farooq (also transliterated as Farouk, Faruqi, Farook, Faruk, Faroeq, Faruq, or Farouq, Farooqi, Faruque or Farooqui; ar, فاروق, Fārūq) is a common Arabic given and family name. ''Al-Fārūq'' literally means "the one who distinguishes b ...
and began a process of ending British colonial influence in Egypt.
Grand Mufti and Grand Imam
![Egyptian government officials at al-Azhar Mosque, 1966](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Egyptian_government_officials_at_al-Azhar_Mosque%2C_1966.jpg)
Mamoun was appointed
Grand Mufti of Egypt
Egypt's Dar al-Ifta ( ar, دار الإفتاء المصرية ) is an Egyptian Islamic advisory, justiciary and governmental body established as a centre for Islam and Islamic legal research in Egypt in 1313 AH / 1895 CE. It offers Muslims r ...
on 28 February 1955 by the
Egyptian government
The politics of Egypt are based on republicanism, with a semi-presidential system of government. The current political system was established following the 2013 Egyptian military coup d'état, and the takeover of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. ...
, succeeding Ahmed Ibrahim Mughith. His appointment coincided with the state's abolition of the sharia courts and the nationalization of the country's ''
awqaf
A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitab ...
'' ("religious trusts"), thus making Mamoun one of the main scholars consulted for religious matters.
On 19 June 1960 he left the post and was succeeded by Ahmed Muhammad Abdel Haridi. As Grand Mufti Mamoun had issued 11,992 ''
fatawa
A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified ''Faqīh, Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A j ...
'' ("religious edicts"), an average of 2,398 annually, the most ever issued by any Egyptian grand mufti.
[Skovgaard-Peterson, p. 194.]
In 1961, during the period of
union with Syria (February 1958-September 1961), he was appointed by the Ministry of Awqaf to preside over a council of scholars to compose and edit the ''Encyclopedia of Islamic Fiqh'', the largest compilation and organization ''
fiqh
''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh.
The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...
'' in the 20th century. The process of completing took decades, long after Mamoun's death, but Mamoun personally contributed a significant amount of material to the encyclopedia.
In July 1964 President
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...
appointed Mamoun
Grand Imam of al-Azhar The Grand Imam of al-Azhar ( ar, الإمام الأكبر), also known as Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar ( ar, links=no, شيخ الأزهر الشريف), currently Ahmed el-Tayeb, is a prestigious and a prominent official title in Egypt. He is consid ...
. As Grand Imam, in August, Mamoun declared in a ''
fatwa
A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...
'' that contraception was not in contradiction to
Islamic law
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...
, provided the mechanism was legitimate and the conditions necessitated it. He made the edict within the context of concerns regarding overpopulation, which he deemed a threat to humanity. He refused to issue a ''fatwa'' describing
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
as a doctrine of Islam, stating religion was neutral of individual ideologies, although it could be permissive or not permissive of certain ideological principles or methods.
[Abdel-Fattah, Moataz-Bellah]
What kind of grand imam is he?
. ''Al-Ahram Weekly
''Al-Ahram Weekly'' is an English-language weekly broadsheet printed by the Al-Ahram Publishing House in Cairo, Egypt.
History and profile
''Al Ahram Weekly'' was established in 1991 by the ''Al-Ahram'' newspaper, which also runs a French-langu ...
''. 2010-04-10. Retrieved on 2013-08-11.
Mamoun's health took a downturn and he resigned from al-Azhar in 1969. He died in 1973.
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mamoun, Hassan
1894 births
1973 deaths
Egyptian jurists
Grand Imams of al-Azhar
Grand Muftis of Egypt